Northwest Man Convicted in Crash that Killed Woman and Her Son

Richard Strum was convicted of reckless homicide and aggravated driving under the influence.
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Cook County States Attorney

CHICAGO — A Northwest Side man faces between six and 28 years in prison for causing a 2011 crash in Jefferson Park that killed a mother and her teenage son.

It took a jury 2 1/2 hours Thursday to convict Richard Strum, 36, of reckless homicide and aggravated driving under the influence, Cook County state’s attorney spokeswoman Lisa Gordon said.

Strum, of the 5400 block of North Mobile Avenue, was speeding and had marijuana in his system when his Ford Mustang crashed into the Honda Civic driven by Claudia Delia, 35, around 8 a.m. on Aug. 9, 2011, near Austin and Sunnyside avenues, prosecutors said.

Strum was acquitted on a charge of impaired aggravated driving under the influence, Gordon said.

Delia and her son Bryan, 16, were killed. Delia's 3-year-old son Hauk Marvin, her stepson, Zack Marvin, 15, and the boys' friend Chris Diaz, 16, who were riding in the back seat, were injured. All were on their way to a relative's house to begin a trip to Wisconsin Dells.

Bryan Delia would have started his junior year at Taft High School a month after the crash.

Strum did not have a valid license at the time of the crash. It had been suspended after he failed to pay a judgment against him resulting from a 2000 car accident, officials said.

Strum is scheduled to be sentenced by Cook County Criminal Court Judge James Linn June 21.